Shop cash security: float limits, drops and a banking routine

Cash is the most tempting thing in your shop and the easiest to lose, through robbery, theft by someone you trust, honest mistakes, or plain misplacement. Most shops lose money to the last two far more often than to the first.

A cash system does two jobs. It reduces how much is at risk at any moment, and it creates a trail so you can tell what happened when the numbers do not match. None of it needs to be complicated. It needs to be written down and followed every day.

Your float is the starting cash in the till each day, in small notes and coins for change. Keep it the same every day. A shop that opens with $100 one day and $150 the next cannot tell a shortage from a different start.

The till limit is the most cash you let sit in the drawer. Choose a number that covers your normal change needs plus a margin. Many shops pick a figure equal to roughly an hour or two of sales plus the float. When the drawer reaches it, you make a drop.

Review the limit if your trade changes. A busy payday weekend may need a lower limit with more frequent drops, not a higher one.

A drop is moving excess cash from the till to a safe, out of the customer's sight. It is the single best habit for cutting risk.

1. Count the excess

   Take out notes above the float, starting with the largest. Count them where the customer cannot see.

2. Write a slip

   Record the date, time, amount and the cashier's initials. A second person initials it if you have one.

3. Put it in the safe

   Use a drop slot, a locked box or a safe the cashier cannot open. Drop it in the same way every time.

4. Log it

   Add the amount to the drops list for the day.

A drop slot that lets cashiers put cash in but not take it out is ideal. Even a locked box bolted under the counter is much better than a shoebox.

• Fix it to the floor or a wall. A light safe can be carried away.
• Put it out of public view, and not near a window.
• Limit who knows the code. Change it when a staff member leaves.
• Do not keep large amounts overnight if you can bank them.
• Keep a note of what is in it each day, written by someone, signed and dated.
• Check your insurance. Many policies set limits on cash kept on the premises, so read yours or ask your insurer.

Aim to bank often enough that the safe never holds more than you could afford to lose. For many shops that is daily or every second day.

1. Prepare the deposit. After cash-up, count the drops and the closing cash above the float, and complete the deposit slip. Two people count it if you can. See how to cash up at the end of the day.
2. Vary the timing. Do not go to the bank at exactly the same time and by the same route each day. A pattern can be watched.
3. Vary who goes. Where possible, rotate the person and do not announce when you are leaving.
4. Do not carry it obviously. Use an ordinary bag, not a bank bag. Do not stop on the way.
5. Take two people for large deposits, or consider a bank pickup service or a night deposit if your bank offers one.
6. Keep the slip. Match the bank's stamped copy against your record the next day.

Ask your bank whether you can deposit coins and small notes, and whether they charge for it. Some shops also reduce the cash they hold by encouraging card, wallet and transfer payments, which are recorded in the sale and land in the bank without being carried.

A second person turns a hidden count into a witnessed one. It protects the honest cashier from false blame and protects you from a dishonest one.

• Count the opening float with the person handing over the till.
• Count the closing cash with the cashier and one other.
• Have a second person witness any drop above a set size, such as $200.
• Both people sign the count sheet.

If you work alone, do the next best thing: count twice, write it down immediately, and photograph the slip. Owners should be seen to follow the same rules as staff.

The point of the records is to reconcile. At the end of the day, you should be able to compare what you expected with what you have.

Worked example. The float was $100. Cash sales were $780. Cash refunds were $20. One drop of $200 and one of $300 were made. Nothing else was paid out.

Expected cash in the drawer at close = 100 + 780 - 20 - 200 - 300 = $360. The drawer holds $350. You are $10 short. Because you wrote down every drop, you know the gap is not a missing deposit, and you can look at the day's sales and refunds for the cause.

Keep a simple cash book or sheet with these lines each day: opening float, cash sales per the system, refunds, each drop, closing count, difference and who counted. Keep a record of any shortage over a small tolerance, and look at the pattern. One $10 gap on a busy day is normal. The same cashier short every Friday is not.

Shopkeepa records payment type on each sale, including cash, so your cash total comes from the sales history, not from memory, and refunds and voids stay on the record. It does not count your drawer for you, and it is still in development. Join the early access list. See point of sale.

• Ring up every sale before handing over the goods.
• Never let someone else use another person's till login.
• Keep the cash drawer closed between sales.
• Keep personal money out of the drawer.
• Keep large notes visible on the counter until the change is given, and call out the amount.
• Never leave the till unattended and open.
• Check the till, drops and safe against your log at least weekly, and do some checks unannounced.
• Keep cashiers from seeing costs and profit, and from voiding sales without approval. See how to handle refunds and returns and reduce stock loss.